THE MERCANTILE MARINE FUND.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has appointed a Departmental Committee to inquire into the condition of the Mercantile Marine Fund, and the mode of levying the Light Dues; whether he will state the Order of Reference to such Committee, and the names of the members; and whether any proposal to relieve the shipping interest of Light Dues at the cost of the Exchequer will be excluded from the inquiry of the Committee?

Yes, Sir; I have appointed au Inter-Departmental Committee with the following Reference:—
To inquire into the present financial condition of the Mercantile Marine Fund, the sources of its revenue, and the mode in which that revenue is applied; as also into the principles
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upon which Light Dues are, at present, levied, having regard to their incidence upon different classes of ships and voyages.
And
To advise what (if any) changes are desirable for increasing the revenue of the Mercantile Marine Fund, for relieving it from any of the existing charges, and for adjusting such inequalities in the incidence of the Light Dues as may be found to exist.
The Committee will consist of—The right hon. Gentleman the Member for Bodmin (Chairman), Lord Welby, Lord Brassey, Sir Robert Hamilton, the hon. Members for the South Division of Bristol and the St. Rollox Division of Glasgow, one of the Secretaries or Assistant Secretaries of the Board of Trade, Mr. Ryder, of the Treasury, Captain Vyvyan, of the Trinity House, Mr. Fenwick Fenwick, President of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom, and Mr. John Glover.